Philadelphia Barracks No Longer Fingerprinting for "Out of State" Licenses

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Philadelphia Barracks No Longer Fingerprinting for "Out of State" Licenses

Hey all,

Just got off the phone with the Philadelphia barracks of the PSP and I was informed that as of two months ago they no longer perform fingerprinting for out of state licenses. I've contacted the PSP Integrity line to figure out if this was PSP wide, or this individual troop and here's what I've found out:

As of right now, there is no directive or "final word" from the PSP on this, troops are able to make this call on their own....

Until! They receive complaints regarding the practice, and if they receive enough complaints (I don't know what "enough" is), they will make a policy that will be state-wide.

From what the gentleman on the phone said to me: This is the first time they have received a complaint/concern like this. So that leads me to believe that A) It's happening in other parts of PA and no one gives a flying hoot [I doubt this] or B) Only Philadelphia is doing this and no one gives a hoot [or knows what to do about it].

Positive outcome: The guy on the phone seemed concerned that Philadelphia wasn't doing this and helped me find another troop that would fingerprint for out of state. If enough complaints are received, the entire PSP would have to make a policy and stick to it, which may mean that all troops MUST do fingerprinting, regardless of whether they "want to" or not.

Negative Outcome: If the state gets wind, they may decide to stop doing out of state license fingerprinting at all troops, I'm not sure how likely this is (probably not very), but I figured it should be put out there.

Neutral/No Change Outcome: The PSP receives complaints and their directive is: Troops can decide whether they want to do them or not.

So if any of you Philadelphians (or Pennsys) are interested in filling this complaint you can go here: PSP Complaint/Compliment

Consider this my call to rally the troops! (of PAFOA, that is) Click there, fill out a complaint form and move it along to Harrisburg and let's see the kind of impact we can have!

If you want more info you can contact PSP at:

717-657-4200 (Integrity Line)
717-657-4205 (Some variation of the integrity line)
800-932-0784 (Don't bother, this one just goes to an answering machine)
215-560-2414 (Philadelphia's Deputy Attorney General's Office, not very helpful...)

If you have any other questions or would like more information, please PM me. For now, I'm off to go fill out and send in my complaint.

I was printed by the Lower Merion Police Dept. a couple of months ago for a FL permit. I was in/out in about 20 minutes and cost (I think) $35. LMPD is located at 71 E. Lancaster Avenue - Ardmore, Pennsylvania 19003.

Since these are fingerprints that you as applicants want taken anyhow, why do you need a cop to hold your hand while doing it?

I guess you get a couple of fingerprint cards as part of the application and I know the ink is available on the market and so are rollers. So what prevents you or anyone from squeezing some ink onto a piece of glass, rolling it out into a thin film on the glass and rolling you own prints onto the card yourself? The important thing is that you go from nail to nail on each finger without making a smudge. If you're nervous about it do some test/training rolls on plain paper first.

There is even a product on the market that looks like neutral shoe polish and produces a nice inky looking fingerprint on paper so it's not as messy as printer's ink.

I went to PSP Trevose a couple of weeks ago to be fingerprinted for a Virginia carry permit. I was told that PSP does NOT do fingerprints for out of state permits because of the loophole. The non-resident application from Virginia specifically states that the fingerprints MUST be taken by a law enforcement officer of the state in which you reside, plus the phone number of the law enforcement officer who took the prints, so they can call the officer to verify the officer actually took the prints. After being turned down by PSP, I went onto the Bensalem Police Department website. Because I live near there. I live in NE Philly so Bensalem is close to me. There website states fingerprints are taken on Wednesdays 9 to 11 AM for $20.00. Must bring a check (no cash) or money order made out to Bensalem Township. I did, the officer took my prints no questions asks. The officer didn't even care what I needed them for. When I told him he had to provide his phone number, he just said that's strange and wrote his phone number at the station under his signature on the fingerprint card provided in my application package. No problem at all.

Another possible option, and one that could make someone some money, is if a Constable took the finger prints. Constables are Peace Officer/LEOs under state law and thier elected office is considered an "Agency".